Gregoriana_ENG_56_01_22_DEF.qxp_01_22 14/07/20 12:50 Pagina 4
ACADEMIC LIFE
For an authentic, relevant theology A Interview with Fr. Philipp G. Renczes, S.J. Dean of the Faculty of Theology by PAOLO PEGORARO
What does it mean to rethink theology? We discussed it with the dean of our Faculty of Theology. Ahead of the new academic year the Faculty has upgraded the First Cycle, optimally coordinating courses and seminars: its strengths are a comprehensive programme and in-depth overview. The Licentiate and Doctorate programmes elicit an ecclesial, profound, and truly universal gaze
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56 - 2020
“A
t the present moment it’s difficult to draw conclusions, but it seems all too evident to me that many of the certainties that we thought enabled us to keep life under control have been shattered.” Our meeting with Fr. Philipp G. Renczes S.J., Dean of the Faculty of Theology of the Gregorian University, took place during the first phase of the health crisis caused by Covid-19, a delicate moment fraught with questions.
∫ The crisis has forced us to reconsider and rediscover what is essential. Does this also apply to theology? “It certainly does. We feel the need to return to the fundamentals of our existence so that we may rediscover the reasons for hope and joy, along with the common grounds of mutual trust, in an attempt to jointly and more effectively develop our “common home”, both on a socio-political level – through more respectful and supportive relationships – and with regard to the natural environment. In fact, not only have we lost sight of the natural environment in more ways than we thought, but the abuse that has been inflicted on it is evidently at our dramatic disadvantage. In other words, the yearning to deepen our understanding of God’s grace has regained prominence. This reality, constituting a profound aspiration, touches us all indiscriminately. Perhaps for non-believers it manifests itself as an unspecified need, as for the believer such yearning has found a face in Jesus Christ and in Him the source of inexhaustible fullness. I find it very significant that our reflection – as a theological Faculty and with regard to the question “Covid-19 and God” – began with an initiative of the Department of Fundamental Theology, a department characterised
